Their study of the relationship between the use of cellular phones and traffic-accident risk shows that drivers who have car phones are 34 percent more likely to be involved in an accident than people who don't.

Big talkers are at an even greater risk. Results showed that people who use a car phone for more than 50 minutes a month are five times more likely to be involved in an accident than those who use their car phones less or not at all.

The study, authored by John M. Violanti, clinical assistant professor, and James R. Marshall, professor, both of UB's Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, appears in the current issue of Accident Analysis and Prevention, a journal published in Great Britain. Violanti also is a member of the Department of Criminal Justice at the Rochester Institute of Technology.

Driver inattention is a contributing factor in 35 percent of traffic accidents, according to a 1993 report from the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. Previous studies have shown that the use of cellular phones in vehicles may distract the driver, but few have looked at what may happen as a result, i.e., actual accidents, the researchers said.

To investigate that relationship, Violanti and Marshall analyzed the accident-risk factors of 200 New York State motorists, half of whom were selected randomly from drivers who had an accident in the past two years, and half from drivers with no accidents in the past 10 years. All drivers received a mail survey asking how often they are involved in 18 activities known to cause distractions while driving, such as drinking beverages, smoking, talking with passengers, adjusting seats or mirrors, as well as cellular-phone use. Demographic information also was collected.

Results showed that 13 percent of the accident group and 9 percent of the non-accident group used cellular phones while driving. Further analysis showed that using a cellular phone more than 50 minutes a month was strongly and significantly associated with traffic accidents.

In general, phone users who had accidents were younger and had less driving experience and more previous accidents than the non-accident control group. Accident subjects also spent twice as much time on the phone while driving as those without accidents. They also engaged in more business and intense business calls.

Phone use was more strongly associated with accidents than lack of driving experience and most activities known to be distractions, such as drinking beverages, adjusting the radio, looking at the scenery or thinking about problems.

Surprisingly, researchers said, the lone distraction of talking on a car phone was associated with a higher risk of accidents than phone use combined with other distractions, such as smoking or drinking a beverage.

"Apparently, cellular phone use as a single behavior may affect accident risk to a greater degree than many other in-car activities while driving," Violanti said.

He pointed out that the study shows a statistical association between car-phone use and accidents, not cause and effect.

"Many factors cause traffic accidents," Violanti stated. "The task of future research is to study these factors further."